The Benue State Police Command and the Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB) have refuted claims that individuals abducted on April 15, 2026, along the Makurdi-Otukpo Road were Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination (UTME) candidates. In statements released on April 18, authorities clarified that the victims were not students en route to an exam but were instead participants in a police recruitment exercise returning to Otukpo when the attack occurred. DSP Edet Udeme, police spokesperson, confirmed the victims were ordinary passengers aboard a commercial bus traveling to Makurdi, dismissing reports of a targeted abduction of exam candidates. JAMB spokesperson Fabian Benjamin condemned the spread of false information, stressing that the board was wrongly implicated without verification. He noted that the nature of the UTME process, with candidates assigned to various testing centres, makes mass group travel to a single location improbable. "It is regrettable that, in moments like this, there is a tendency to hastily malign government institutions, particularly JAMB, without proper verification of facts," Benjamin said. He called on individuals and media outlets that propagated the error to issue public apologies for damaging the board's image. Investigations into the abduction are ongoing, with security forces conducting operations along the highway to secure the victims' release.

💡 NaijaBuzz Take

A false narrative linking the abduction to UTME candidates spread quickly despite no official confirmation, exposing how unverified claims can instantly distort public understanding. JAMB's clarification that the victims were police recruitment candidates — not examiners — reveals how easily misinformation can tarnish institutional credibility. When speculation overtakes facts in crisis reporting, the real victims include both the abductees and the agencies wrongly blamed. This incident underscores the cost of speed over accuracy in Nigeria's information ecosystem.

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